In the art of setting ceramic tile, flat, square or rectangular tile are fixed to a foundation or substraight by suitable cement. The tile are spaced apart to establish narrow, uniform channels between adjacent tile which are ultimately filled with grout (cement) to establish what is called "grout joints." To establish neat, uniform grout joints, it has long been common practice to insert small cruciform spacers of molded plastic material at and between the adjacent corners of related tile when the tile are initially laid or set. The cruciform spacers must be removed after the tile are set in place and before grout is deposited in the channels to establish the grout joints.
The above-noted spacers occur within the narrow channels below the top surfaces of the tile and are often so tightly engaged by the tile and/or held by cement that they stubbornly resist removal.
To remove the spacers from between set tile, tile setters have long used common nails as picks and have sometimes used more-comfortable-to-hold and easier-to-manipulate pick tools, such as awls. While such tools are reasonably effective to remove loose spacers, they are notably less effective to remove tightly held and/or stuck spacers. When tightly held or stuck spacers are encountered, they are most frequently left in place with the hope that a small or thin covering of grout will obscrue them. This practice has often been defined as "cheating" and is frowned upon. Such cheating is practiced due to the fact that the great forces that must be exerted and the working of simple pick tools that must be resorted to effect removal of stuck spacers are likely to chip and crack the tile adjacent to the spacers. To "cheat" by leaving difficult-to-remove spacers in place is less time consuming and far less costly than to remove and replace chip or cracked tile.
In the electronics art, when assembling, servicing and/or repairing circuit boards and the like, technicians constantly find it necessary to use pick tools to move delicate and fragile circuit components and parts relative to and about other delicate and fragile components and parts. When performing such work, special care must be taken to avoid forcibly moving the hard metal pick tools into engagement with any part of the circuit structure other than the part sought to be moved. As a result of the above, the technicians must deftly manipulate their pick tools without the aid or assistance of any guiding means or structure. As a result of the foregoing, frequency or protracted use of pick tools is extremely difficult and fatiguing.
To reduce the tendency of ordinary pick tools to damage parts of circuit boards and the like that might be accidentally or incidentally contacted, the prior art has encased the shanks of some pick tools with loose, soft, plastic protective sheaves. While such protective sheaves have proved beneficial, the benefits afforded thereby are extremely limited.